Category Archives: Bible Lesson Connection

Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dorothy Height – the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans. Ever since she was denied entrance to college because the incoming class had already met its quota of two African American women, Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality.

She led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, and served as the only woman at the highest level of the Civil Rights Movement – witnessing every march and milestone along the way. And even in the final weeks of her life – a time when anyone else would have enjoyed their well-earned rest – Dr. Height continued her fight to make our nation a more open and inclusive place for people of every race, gender, background and faith. Michelle and I offer our condolences to all those who knew and loved Dr. Height – and all those whose lives she touched.

In this week’s study of inspiring bible characters, we look at Paul and Silas. As you probably already know, Paul was a champion in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He and Silas are trying to do the work of the Lord and they find themselves in a bad predicament because they have sought to do something that is good. In their story, we see how the Lord is able to sustain us during the difficulty we experience in life.

Paul is convinced through a vision that the Macedonians need help. Paul, feeling as though the Lord had called him to preach to them, leaves for Macedonia immediately.

Paul has a vision that the Macedonians need help. Instead of money, food, water, supplies or protection from an enemy, Paul assumes that the help they need is to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life Lesson: Sometimes, the best help you can offer to someone in need is to give them the Word of God. The Word of God will nourish a person for a lifetime.

Paul and Silas meet Lydia

Acts 16: 13-15

Lydia was worshipping God. Her heart was opened to God and then after understanding the Word, she and her household were baptized.

As Christians, we can have an amazing influence in our households. Like Lydia, if we open our hearts to God and earnestly seek Him, we could possibly convince members of our household to improve their relationship with Christ as well.

I know it is frustrating when there is a family member or loved one who is living their life without the Lord, we must continually work on ourselves and hope that the light they see in us will cause them to rethink their commitment to Christ.

Paul and Silas in Prison

Acts 16: 16-24

Paul and Silas were humiliated, beaten and thrown into prison because they sought to do the right thing. Paul commanded the evil spirit to come out of the girl. The spirit fled and thus the girl’s slave masters were without the opportunity to continue to make money off of her.

Question for Thought: Have you ever been punished, ridiculed or mistreated because you tried to do the right thing?

Life Lesson: In life, there may be times when bad things happen to you

Paul and Silas Inspire Us To…

Be obedient to the call of the Lord and minister to those in need

Offer the Word of God as the best way to deal with the trouble that life brings

Not give up on family members and loved ones who don’t have God in their lives. Continue to be an example to them and you might find that they will get closer to God too

Accept that bad things sometimes do happen when you are trying to do good

Worship God genuinely and sincerely even during the toughest times in our lives

Realize that God is willing and able to deliver us from the storms of our lives

Understand the power that we have, through God, to positively influence another person’s walk with the Lord

See how praising God in the midst of our difficulty is extremely powerful in helping us to feel better and ultimately, in helping us to overcome our situations

In our study of inspiring bible characters, we examine The Wife of Noble Character. Because of the difficult state of many marriages today, it is necessary that we say something that might inspire both husband and wife. While this particular passage of scripture we will study focuses on the role of the wife, we shall also look briefly at instructions the Bible offers for the husband.

The Wife of Noble Character
•Proverbs 31: 10-12
–The Bible is telling us that it is difficult to find a wife of noble character and that if found, she is worth far more than rubies.
–Her husband has full confidence in her. He knows she has dedicated herself to him and no other man. He believes in her and he lacks nothing of value because she makes sure he is taken care of.
– She brings him good, not harm. The noble wife is good for her husband. She is of help to him and he benefits from her presence in his life.

She is respected and praised…
•Proverbs 31: 28-31
–Her children and husband respect and praise her because of her character and work ethic.
–She fears the Lord. She is a Godly woman.
– She is to be honored and rewarded for the type of woman she is.

The Husband
•Ephesians 5: 25-33
–The Husband must love the wife as he loves himself. He must take care of her in the way he should take care of himself and his own body.
–He must love his wife so much that he is willing to give himself up (die) for her as Christ gave himself up for the Church.

How God intended it to be…

•The Husband loves his wife as he loves himself. He provides for her in a way that he should provide and care for himself. He loves her so much that he would die for her.
•In return, the wife feels loved and appreciated by her husband. She, then, reciprocates by being the best wife she can be to this man who adores her. She works hard to fulfill the role of The Wife of Noble Character.
•Because of her dedication to the family and to the Lord, she is respected and praised.

Philip was one of seven men chosen by the (Jewish People) to handle certain leadership duties while the twelve disciples focused on spreading the Gospel (Acts 6: 3-4). Philip and his counterparts were full of the Spirit and had great wisdom (Acts 6: 5).
In this lesson of inspiring bible characters, we will see how one man can have a great impact on the lives of others. Hopefully, through Philip, we will see how we, too, can do something powerful in the name of God.

Philip spreads the Gospel•Acts 8: 4-8
–The Bible says that Philip proclaimed Christ. Philip’s dedication to Christ and His Word is an example for us to follow. Do you proclaim Christ to others? What are some ways that you can personally spread the news of Jesus Christ to those you come in contact with?
–Philip ministered to the needs of the people and they were healed. We all know people who are hurting and in need. We have frequent opportunities to assist those who need our help. You can be a listening ear to someone who is dealing with a life crisis, give Godly advice to a loved one, or pray for someone in need. There are a number of ways that you can help another person, relieve their pain and help them find joy once again.

Philip and the Eunuch Cross Paths…•Acts 8: 26-29
–From scripture, it appears that the angel of the Lord arranged this meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.
–Question for Thought: Who has the Lord “arranged” for you to cross paths with? What is the Spirit of God telling you to do about them?•Acts 8: 30-35
–The Ethiopian eunuch is seeking knowledge about the Lord. He’s been to worship, he’s reading God’s Word, but he needs help to understand it.
–Philip is obedient to the Spirit of God and shares with the eunuch the good news about Jesus.Philip baptizes the Eunuch

Steps Leading to Baptism

•Hear the Word
–Romans 10: 14

•Believe that Christ is the Son of God-Hebrews 11: 6

•Repent of Your Sins
–Acts 3: 19

•Confess before men that you believe
–Matthew 10: 32

•Be Baptized for the forgiveness of your sins
–Acts 2: 38

Thanks to BibleLessonConnection.com for being a Dallas South Community Supporter.

As we continue our study of inspiring bible characters, we meet King Solomon. Solomon, the son of King David, is known throughout the Word of God for his wisdom. In fact, the Lord asked him what he wanted most and Solomon requested that he be given a discerning heart to govern and distinguish between right and wrong (I Kings 3: 9).

The Bible tells us that Solomon is the author of the Book of Proverbs. Because the Book of Ecclesiastes follows a theme of wisdom and insight, King Solomon is widely believed to be the author of this Book of the Bible as well. Let us be inspired by the words of Solomon.

A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

– Solomon acknowledges that life goes through various phases. There will be a time in our life for everything. He seems to be saying that we should not be surprised when we encounter different “times” in our lives. It is to be expected that our lives will have different “seasons”.
–What season is it in your life? You can be sure that whatever the season is, good or bad, that another season is coming.
–Sometimes we get consumed with emotion when going through difficulty, we should take comfort in knowing that change is constant in our lives and that things won’t stay difficult forever.

Enjoy Life

Ecclesiastes 9: 7, 9-10, 12

–Solomon is telling us to enjoy life. We should realize that though the things of this life are meaningless, that the best that we can do while we are here is to enjoy the life we have.

– Many of us spend too much time worrying. Life is temporary. Why worry about something that isn’t going to last? Many of us will look back and regret that we spent so much of our time in despair instead of enjoying what we can of our experience on Earth.

I’d like to welcome BibleLessonConnection.com, Dallas South Community Supporter who will sponsor a weekly Bible Study session here on the blog. Founder and editor Carl Carey talked with me about the site, how it started, and how the Dallas South Family can get the most out of the bible lessons that will be featured here.

Listen to the interview with Carl Carey below.

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BY BIBLECONNECTION.COM

Seeking a Breakthrough…

Welcome to our new bible series entitled, Inspiring Bible Characters. Our goal for the next eight weeks is to gain inspiration from several men and women who we meet in scripture. To set up this series of lessons, I want us to first examine our own lives.

While we have much to be thankful for, most of us are still grappling with things that cause us unrest. For our first lesson, I want to study what it means to arrive at a place of being at peace about whatever has been distressing you. Overcoming that personal distress is commonly referred to as having a breakthrough.

I truly hope that as you identify the changes you want to make in your life that you will then be inspired by our bible characters; and ultimately have a breakthrough of your own this year.

Have you been dealing with a particular situation that has caused you unrest for a long period of time?

What are some of the issues that we deal with on a long-term basis?

Some of the Things that Cause You Unrest…
•Financial problems
•Marital problems
•Lack of progress in one’s life (stuck in a rut)
•Family issues
•Stress on the job
•Issues with Self
•Relationship issues
•Past Hurts
•Grieving
•Physical health
•Emotional health
•Living in Sin
•An unmet desire or need

Did you know that sometimes the answer to our problem exists, but like in science, we just haven’t discovered it yet…
Some of our problems are complex and difficult for us to solve, but in Christ, we have the answer…